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Category: vacation

Somewhere is the fine line between living authentically, with truth and honesty as hallmarks of your character...and detailed oversharing. Oversharing is where your revelations are met with something other than, "oh, thank you for being brave and sharing what we're all thinking." Oversharing gets awkward smiles and nods while the other person makes non-committal noises … Continue reading I’m so Embarrassed

On this day, 19 years ago, I got engaged to a 22-year-old dude with no job. Four months after that I married him. I was 21, he was still 22, we had $1,800 total dollars between the two of us, and no income. And despite how sketchy that sounds on paper, it was the best decision … Continue reading What Love Is

Roughly two years ago Jay and I embarked on what we call our 50 States Adventure. In those two years we have been to all 48 contiguous states as a family of 6. Our rules are that we have to spend the night in each state and do something iconic--something that captures that state's personality … Continue reading FAQs for our 50 States Adventure

Dear Char-Gri-Ha-DANGIT! I guess I should start with saying that I'm sorry that I never call you by your actual name. I usually just shout out random syllables until I give up and yell at you to stop whatever it is that you're doing. To be fair, I call your siblings a bunch of random … Continue reading Dear Char-Gri-Ha-YOU!: An apology letter to my 4th kid

I'm talking about my oldest son and you can't really spend a day with him unless I already know you and you are offering free baby sitting. But, trust me, he is hilarious.Griffin is not quite three and I'll be amazed if he makes it to elementary school without breaking a bone. I've mentioned several … Continue reading Best Mom Tip #145: Spend a day with my son

We just got home from our family vacation. Here's a recap by the numbers:3 cities visited with three kids in tow. Philly, D.C, and Baltimore were great fun. We got to show the kids some American history, teach them more about how to travel, and sort of feel like we got to go on a … Continue reading Best Mom Tip #144: Learn Vacation Accounting

We went to Disney World last week and got home on Sunday. It was.....you know....fun. In the plus column, the kids had a GREAT time. Charlotte rode a roller coaster for the first time, Griffin got to meet Woody and Buzz Lightyear, and Harry couldn't pick what to look at first on "It's a Small … Continue reading Best Mom Tip #123: Feel the magic